Secrets of the Job Hunt

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Persistence is an intangible aspect of any job search. How much effort you put in directly affects how many interviews and job offers you will get. The one thing you cannot do in your job search is give up. A winning attitude and the ability to keep yourself motivated is paramount to finding and landing the job you want.

Persistence takes on many forms. These include sending your résumé via e-mail and as a hard copy, then following up with a phone call. It is checking back with target companies every few months to see if they are hiring again. It is dedicating yourself to finding a job not just for a few hours a week, but for at least twenty to thirty hours per week.

Consider the case of Gina Salwicki of Roxbury, Massachusetts. After being laid off, the 58-year-old woman targeted a new retirement community being built nearby as the place where she wanted to work next.

She applied for and was offered a role in customer service, but she declined the offer because she thought it didn't pay enough. A few days later she was invited back to interview for another position but did not get that one because she was too inexperienced. Some weeks later she applied for two other positions and was again rejected.

But she didn't give up. She applied yet again for a facilities coordinator position. The company was impressed by her attitude after she became a fixture in the firm's waiting room. She finally got a job. She has now been there for over three years and was recently promoted. Persistence does pay.